Posted
by
Zonk
on Thursday December 06, 2007 @06:10PM
from the not-just-de-bips-and-bloops dept.

The field of game music has gotten considerably better over the years, a fact that Games Radar highlights in a simple 'list article' about iPod-worthy game music. They highlight some obvious recent gems, like Coulton's "Still Alive" and "Hikari" from Kingdom Hearts, but also bring back some older goodies with choices like "Everybody Jump Around" from Jet Set Radio or "Chemical Plant" from Sonic 2. "Sonic games used to have amazing music. And while single-player Mystic Cave Zone came a close second, this has to make the list. It may be basic compared to modern CD recordings, but just listen to how each of the console's sound channels is used - it's remarkable. Intricate and dramatic, this industrial anthem builds and builds before seamlessly looping in a non-annoying way."

Just for the record... Guitar Hero Soundtracks should not count as they were not designed with the game in mind. Just thought I would get that out there before all the guitar hero freaks start saying Stairway to Heaven is the best game song of all time:-P

Meh - Guitar Hero is just the most recent abomination. (I have the right to be cranky - I put in the years it takes to be able to play everything in those games on a real guitar). Elsewhere in the thread someone referred to Quake 2 as 'old school'. I don't think so, sonny. You want really classic, really OLD school game music? You've got to go back before the days of audio files, when all music on game systems had to be synthesized by the system itself and not just played back off of a recording.

I have the right to be cranky - I put in the years it takes to be able to play everything in those games on a real guitar

Why does this come up every time Guitar Hero gets mentioned? I'm sorry, but playing a real guitar doesn't give you the right to be cranky about the game in general. If there are dumb kids who figure that they're hot stuff because they're good at Guitar Hero, then be cranky at them, but it's not the game's damn fault. I play both real guitar and Guitar Hero, and they're entirely different beasts. Bringing up the real instrument in a discussion about the game over and over and over (and yes, I know it isn't just you) is getting pretty nonsensical.

I think the music from the above mentioned PSone game was amazing. I think I must have played certain levels I didn't need to go through for the millionth time just so I could listen to the music. My favs are the Holy Chapel music, the Abandoned Mine music. Anyways just my two cents.

God, those voice-overs were terrible. Fortunately, the music was more than enough to make up for them, though it did have the unfortunate tendency to leave me scrambling for the mute button when a dialogue sequence would come up, as I would previously have had the volume cranked up to enjoy the tunes.
I think I've played and/or replayed more 'Vania games for their BGM than for their gameplay. Which is saying quite a bit considering the solid platforming fun to be had in the 2D series installm

Best title theme... I'd have to give that one to Baldur's Gate II... today haha. If you haven't heard it check it out. But Morrowind has a far better score overall. One I even listen to in my car while driving!

You're not wrong on Soule's work. I didn't like Guild Wars, but I don't regret buying the collector's edition purely because you got the game's soundtrack on CD, and the music was outstanding. As you said, his work on The Elder Scrolls was also good.

But considering they were going back into the console days, omitting one of the greatest tracks EVER imo is a great disgrace. The ending theme to Chrono Trigger (ranked the greatest RPG of all time on at least one list I've seen, and I don't disagree) is a piece called "To Far Away Times." It's a perfect blend of subtlety and power at different times. The music overall for the game is also a cut above nearly everything else, but this piece just pulls out all the stops and makes a masterpiece.

I found it on YouTube from an ending playthrough a guy did: here [youtube.com] The song itself starts at EXACTLY 1m in, and ends around the 5:20 mark.

I think that "Planescape: Torment" also had some beautiful music tracks. Among my favourite themes: the main theme, the "smoldering corpse" and the credits (really different from others, but still "right atmosphere").

If you're going for PC RPGs from that time period, it's hard to get better than the scores composed by Michael Hoenig for Baldur's Gate I and II. Jeremy Soule's scoring of Icewind Dale was decent, as well.

I wanted to mod you up, and I could have, but this is absolutely the most correct statement ever.
The fact that there is Baldur's gate music playing right now is a testament to that. Also not on the list among music I've never heard anyone deny was incredible: Gerudo valley from Ocarina of Time, Tetris "A" music, and, oddly enough, "mute city" from the f-zero series. But baldur's gate across the board sweeps incredible sound tracks.

The list seemed to be the best console music, not game music. Games I would definitely recommend music wise to anyone would be Hitman 2, 3, and 4 (I've not played 1). Jesper Kyd composed the music for all 4 and did a dynamite job. Hitman 2 is an epic orchestral score, recorded by a real orchestra. Hitman 3 is a very electronic score, though with some orchestral elements, and Hitman 4 is a great blend of the two.

It is criminal that Katamari Damacy is nowhere to be found on that list. The principle theme is one of the stickiest (pun intended) melodies I have heard in a game. I am listening to the soundtrack right now! That simple catchy melody is transformed into such a wide array of styles and arrangements, and remains catchy and fun in every form. It is the only game I have ever sought out a soundtrack for. If only I could get the creepy red pandas out of my subconcious when I listen to it...

I remember the craze over the game when it came out, but honestly I'm surprised the song is still that popular. Not that it's outright terrible or anything, but thinking back, I seem to remember it being relatively run-of-the-mill saccharine J-pop.

Again, not horrendous, but not really memorable either. There's much better game music out there. Look to Jeremy Soule, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Shoji Meguro, Yuki Kajiura, or Kurt Harland for examples. The article was spot-on in recommending Yamaoka's Silent Hill scores, though you do have to be just a little bit unhinged upstairs in order to enjoy SH1 as casual-listening material.

Offhand, I'd recommend Sakimoto's "Vagrant Story" score, Kajiura's "Xenosaga Episode 3," Meguro's "Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne" for those willing to let the ambience set in, or "Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner" if you want something more casually listenable, and any of Harland's work on the Legacy of Kain series.

Fans of Kajiura should probably look more to her anime discography which easily eclipses what she has done for games. Her Xenosaga Ep. 2 and 3 scores are good (I prefer Ep. 2) but her best work is probably found in.hack, Noir, Mai Hime and Mai Otome, etc.

Agreed, at least overall. Saga has a handful of standout tracks that, in my opinion, outshine Noir or Hack/Sign, but her anime work is consistently amazing. I only omitted mentioning it since the thread was on VGM and not anime music.

I'd definitely agree that she's *consistent,* but to be honest I am getting a little impatient with her reluctance to experiment outside of this niche she's carved for herself. With her newer anime pieces (and Xenosaga Ep. 3) it's as if she's working from a "Generic Yuki Kajiura Soundtrack" template. I like her work, but the step she took with Noir, and then the step she took with Xenosaga Ep. 2 -- I would like more such progress from her. I still enjoy listening to all her soundtracks but sometimes I forge

Well, the woman has a serious way with choral vocals. A serious way. However, a lot of her stuff relies heavily on acoustic instrumentation and is on the lighter side. What I'd love to hear is a collaborative effort between her and Shoji Meguro (of recent Shin Megami Tensei über-fame). Fuse her talent for complexity and ability to work with many voices singing in unison with his acid-rock style, knack for distortions, and ability to create extremely dark tones and just-plain-evil sounding music. Track down a copy of the Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne soundtrack and listen to the "Reason Boss Battle" theme. It might be called "Kotowari Boss Battle." Now imagine that, but with Kajiura's choirs. Same thing for "Hari-Hara: 2nd Movement" from the Digital Devil Saga soundtrack.

I would also submit Yoshitaka Hirota (Shadow Hearts) or Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill) as candidates, but they can tend a little too much toward "noise horror" and the ambience and tone of their work would clash with Kajiura's. Maybe Sung-Woon Jang (Magna Carta, War of Genesis), but even then, I have my doubts when it comes to his more intense work like "Devil's Rhapsody" (War of Genesis 3). "Battle with the God of Beasts" (Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata/Tears of Blood) might work okay, but a lot of Jang's work is either too melody-rich already to work with choirs (one would detract from the other) or already uses choirs and is thus awesome in its own right. See "Sorrowful Fate" from MC:CS/ToB for an example.

Kajiura's music is highly melodic and certainly never boring, but it lacks some "oomph," and I think Meguro is the perfect candidate to give it the kick in the ass that it needs.

Video game music has come a long way, and I have about... oh, a LOT of it on my comp00tar at this point. I can't pick 12 favorite soundtracks, let alone 12 tracks. What I *can* do is recommend composers.

1) Yasunori Mitsuda. Some dislike him, but he has a certain style that can really draw the listener in. Xenosaga's orchestral pieces are very ambitious for a game. Notable scores: Chrono Cross, Xenosaga Episode 1

2) Yoko Shimomura. She has a problem using some really low-quality samples in some tracks, which is very apparent in KH2, but is generally quite good. Legend of Mana's end credits are fantastic. Notable scores: Legend of Mana, Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2, Mario RPG

3) Jeremy Soule. Every self-respecting gamer has to recognize this name at this point. A British composer who specializes in background orchestral music. Notable scores: Morrowind, Oblivion, Guild Wars

4) Koji Kondo. Composed the original Mario and Zelda themes. Very respected in the industry, but has yet to fully adjust to more current standards of using high-quality samples.

5) Hitoshi Sakimoto. Composer of FFXII's amazing score. While quite different from Nobuo Uematsu's FF scores, focusing less on melody and more on "theme," his music is reminiscent of John Williams with its complexity and orchestral balance.

6) Nobuo Uematsu. The great master himself, composer of many Final Fantasy scores. One of the most respected men in the business. Notable scores: FFVII, FFVIII

7) David Wise. Few have heard of him but this guy is one of the greatest. He wrote the music for Rare's games during its time with Nintendo. Playing the Tawfret track from the JFG soundtrack while going through a forest or swamp in an RPG makes the experience about ten times more immersive. This guy is a genius. Notable scores: DKC, DKC2, Jet Force Gemini

There are other great composers out there, but I encourage everyone to give these a listen for sure.

You managed to hit most of the big names, but I think it's worth also mentioning:

1) Koichi Sugiyama, composer of the Dragon Quest series, and the guy who made people take video game music seriously in the first place.

2) Sound Team JDK, though not a single person, is behind the music of the Ys series; the Ys series is, sadly, not very popular in the US, but I think you'll find that gamers who are familiar with the series agree that their soundtracks are among the very best.

Agreed on the Ys. I still remember a lot of the tracks from Ys the Vanished Omens. It's amazing what they managed on the 8-bit Sega Master System. It's too bad not more than three people in the USA owned that game.

Mostly just posting in AoL "Me Too" mode, to say that all the composers on that list are worth checking out. There's some great stuff that gets made as video game soundtracks, even though the music is very good in it's own right. A few additions:

1) Yasunori Mitsuda did the Xenogears soundtrack a long time before Xenosaga Ep1's. The Xenosaga soundtrack draws a lot from the older Xenogears soundtrack, and I think the arranged version of Xenogears, Creid, is one his best albums. Chrono Cross is also ama

Actually I was going to say that Uematsu is heavily overrated considering his surprisingly low ratio of good pieces to bad/unmemorable pieces, but I imagined there to be more backlash from those who enjoy his better works than from brainless FF haters who can't even stay on the topic of *music* (I haven't played half the games I have soundtracks for) such as yourself.

Actually, I'd say that Uematsu is par for the course in that sense. Of the other composers you listed, I've only heard the work of Jeremy Soule and Koji Kondo (and Hitoshi Sakimoto, but I wasn't impressed by the FFXII soundtrack a bit), and both of them have rather few really great songs in comparison to the rest of their stuff. Morrowind is a prime example, the opening theme is FANTASTIC, but the rest of the soundtrack is complete "meh", in my opinion. Koji Kondo is the same: on any given Zelda soundtrack,

Well, you see, I have listened to far, far more VG music than I own corresponding games for. I simply would never be able to find the time to play all the games I've heard music from. Of course having played a game add greatly to the level of enjoyment one gets from listening to the music on its own, but some soundtracks are indeed *standalone* in that they are enjoyable without having played the games they were written for. Chrono Cross is one of my favorite soundtracks, but I have never played the game an

Agreed. The Halo 2 score is very good; Ghosts of Reach, Unforgotten, and Epilogue in particular are my favorite tracks. I only wish the music were better integrated into the actual game, where it's unfortunately rather sparse.I should probably have added them to the list I made, but the list has to end at some point ^_^ But while I'm at it, I'd like to add...

9) Kou Outani (Kow Otani). Composer of Shadow of the Collossus and like a billion anime series. PLEASE give the Shadow of the Collossus soundtrack a li

Chemical Plant Zone is actually already on my iPod - you can get a MIDI remix of it, and most older games, from VG Music [vgmusic.com]. Spend a few hours on that site and relive some of the best games of all time.

Speaking of C64 games, in addition to M.U.L.E. I really liked the introduction music to Frightmare [classic-pc-games.com]. Great stuff. I spent a lot of time listening to that so I could reprogram it into the Commodore to play with the sound capabilities.

Sadly, if you get far enough into the game it just dies . . depending on the path you take the game either freezes, or gets garbled, or the screen blanks. I guess they shouldn't have spent so much disk space on the intro music... (The PC version on the other side of the disk

Oh yes I loved the Sonic 2 music. Sonic 3 was good as well, but I remember I would use the debug code to go to the soundtrack screen and I'd just play the scores over and over because I like them so much. I did think that mystic cave zone was probably the best for me although I also really liked the Dr. Robotnik boss battle song.

It's kind of funny, but when I was kid for quite a while I would -only- listen to video game music, and had sort of a disdain for "normal" music. I guess that changed sometime in middle school, and I like all sorts of music now, but I still have a fondness for VG music. Here's a few more of my personal favorites, not listed in the article:

* "Radio" from Command and Conquer: Red Alert* menu song from Forsaken (it's track 6 or 7 on the game CD... not sure if it has an actual title but the band that performed it is "The Swarm")* "Tangerine" from Earthworm Jim 2 (soundtrack by Tommy Tallarico)* the intro song from Earthworm Jim 2... I don't think I've ever seen it on a CD, but it's probably the first "a cappella" song I ever saw in a video game, even though it was just samples on a SNES/Genesis* most of Mechwarrior II* most of Katamari Damacy* "Beyond the Bounds" from Zone of the Enders: Second Runner* the operatic tracks from Heroes of Might & Magic II* most of the Interstate '76 soundtrack* one of the songs from Dr. Mario ("fever"?).* "Skyward Fire" and "Save Me" from Unreal Tournament

Also, for those of you who haven't seen it already, OverClocked Remix has plenty of great freely-downloadable remixes of video game songs:

This immediately jumped to mind. My flatmate discovered that if you put the game CD into a CD player, it would play the soundtrack. It was pretty novel at the time, and had some neat, catchy string music.

The nearest I've heard to it in popular music is Brainbug's "Nightmare".

The other one people seem to be missing is Arcanum. That had some great chamber music in it.

I agree about Command & Conquer, personally I thought Red Alert 2 in particular had some great music in it.

Also:

* Syndicate Wars - brilliant, Blade Runner-ish soundtrack (and playable in a CD player from the game disc)* Deus Ex - the music throughout is excellent and adapts very well depending on location and events* Dune II - the various House themes were great, as was the in-game music

And, although is sort of doesn't count, Tie Fighter had great in-game music as I recall.

I think that the music from Homeworld definitely deserves consideration. The combat themes help to highlight the different personalities of your enemies, and the thematic music for each music matches the deep-space atmosphere almost perfectly. The soundtrack was actually so popular that it was released as a separate CD in the "Game of the Year" edition.Personally, I'd put their use of Samuel Barber's "Agnus Dei" (the choral version of his Adagio for Strings) at the top of any games-related music list, but

Yes, Frank Klepacki's one of the best. (Also loved the ambient tracks from Tiberian Sun.) Too bad there is no straightforward way of getting the tracks from those games. I bought the tracks from emusic. [emusic.com] I'm also partial to the Terran tracks from Starcraft. The intro music for Broodwar can be downloaded for free from Blizzard.

One of my other favorites are the tracks from KKND2. (Krush Kill N Destroy 2). And its nice that they're already in.wav.

In all seriousness, I have quite a few game soundtracks. Both Jet Set Radios, FF VII, MGS: 3 (which works very well away from the game), Katamari (and the sequel), a Zelda or two... there is quite a bit of very good music in games if you are listening. My favorite is probably my Super Smash Brothers: Melee CD. I got it as a pack in with an issue of Nintendo Power a couple of years ago. It has a bunch of fully orchestrated tracks from the game and sounds fantastic. It has a Metroid track, Y

I wonder if anybody else still remembers what Stéphane Picq [wikipedia.org] was able to do on the Dune soundtrack with a mere Ad Lib sound card? Damn, I loved what that guy made so much. I still own the Lost Eden soundtrack CD -- back in the day, making CDs of video game musics was unheard of. Gosh, I feel old now.:)

Original game music:
-Might and Magic (and Heroes). Might and Magic VI, VII, and VIII had the tunes as CD tracks so they are easy to get if you own the game. Heores III had them as MP3s so that's even easier. I think most of the tunes are by Rob King. VII is my favorite
-Silent Hill 3 has a great soundtrack included with the PS2 game (at least the one I got).
-Oblivion. "atmosphere_07" is awesome. The theme is good as well, but Morrowind's is better.
-Wing Commander Privateer has some great tunes, es

If you get the opportunity, check out the soundtrack to Emperor of the Fading Suns. The Game CD can be put into a cd player and played just like any other, though the first cd track is the data track for the game.

It's really incredible music and nothing like what you'd find in a typical game. if you like classical music, you'll love it. I just don't know of any websites to send you to.

I went to a Video Games Live (VGL) [videogameslive.com] event about two months ago. I got to hear some old tunes (e.g., Rastan, Gauntlet, Frogger) that were not in FM MIDI format or so. They sounded great with real instruments. I'd love to hear these (not some crazy remix), but VGL's album [videogameslive.com] isn't ready yet. Are there any other sources of game music that aren't using cheap FM MIDI?

I personally love soundtracks from Command & Conquer (original and Red Alert by Frank Klepacki), DOOM (1 and 2), etc. These are real or high qualit

I like a lot of the suggestions being made here, and I'd simply like to add in (or emphasize) a couple of soundtracks and pieces from my collection:

Megaman 2 and 3, Megaman X and X4. Seriously, the original title of the character was Rockman, his sister was named Roll, Protoman was originally named "Blues", his dog sidekick is named "Rush" and his bird sidekick is named "Beat". The franchise was designed with good music in mind.

Yasunori Mitsuda's work: Chrono Trigger theme (Chrono Trigger), Time's Scar (Chrono Cross), 90% of Xenosaga Episode I (including Resurrection, Gnosis, Battle of KOS-MOS, Ormus, Song of Nephilim, and Kokoro), 90% of the Xenogears soundtrack (special mention to Awakening, Knight of Fire, Small of Two Pieces and June Mermaid - they still give me chills when I hear their atmospheric melodies).

Yuki Kajiura: hasn't done too much, but Xenosaga: Episode II's Communication Breakdown, Image theme of Xenosaga II, and Jr. are the best. Xenosaga Episode III was a huge improvement. Go for "The Battle of Your Soul", "Promised Pain", "Godsibb", "Testament". A lot of good tracks aren't included on the CDs, but somebody at Glabadia Hotel has ripped the music from the game. Look for Assault #2 and Battle vs. Yuriev.

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete - Luna's Boat Song and the Intro Theme. When you watch the animation sequence for the Boat Song, you will be hooked into the game. It's perfect and expresses the game's lighthearted, romantic, colorful world. And the Intro Theme rocks, too. Yes, they're in English.

Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete - Eternal Blue and Lucia's Theme. Same as above, but longer and better. These're also in English.

Right on the money. [wikipedia.org] Full Throttle was one of my favorite adventure games, up there with the Secret of Monkey Island series. This one was cool because, like you mention, it featured music from a performing band.

Ooooh! Horrible start! Well, this post is about music in games and soundtracks worth keeping. Perhaps if you talk about the preferences of a nerdier crowd shying away from a game and justify this statement, you'll still be able to recover. Just don't do something like post ASCII porn or goatse...

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Oh no, ASCII porn... while I do think the tiny exclamation point penis is a nice touch, Slashdot tends to be of the crowd that likes to have justification for statements. Maybe a link to an article that backs up your initial statement now.

-Link to Goatse Removed-

Oh man, strike three. I just don't see any merit in your comment at all. And the fact that you had to hide behind an Anonymous Coward username only goes to show that your penis must be smaller than your ASCII porn's exclamation point. While you haven't won or lost anything, I'm sure there are plenty of people here on Slashdot who wish you the best of times rotting in hell.
Well that's all for this installment, but stay tuned for the next installment of The Slashdot Moderation Game!!!

Disagree. While the MGS soundtrack has incredible production values, but it sounds like yet another action movie with political intrigue. After all, all of Harry Gregson-Williams' scores sound about the same, and one can easily confuse his MGS soundtrack from The Rock, or Enemy of the State. He's talented in that it sounds GOOD, but to me it's very generic sounding, and not really worth iPod'ing.